Crowd-free Corsica

Wineries and perfumeries near Domaine de Murtoli

A visit to Clos Canarelli, the state-of-the art winery owned by
Paul's cousin Yves, is effectively a crash course in Corsican
oenology. The tasting tour reveals the characteristics of the
mineral-rich terroir in flinty whites and deep, leathery reds and
culminates in a full-blown fête champêtre among the vines.

Trips are also laid on to local honey producers and perfumeries,
but the definitive Corsican experience has to be the walking tour
in the maquis with plant conservationist Stéphane Rogliano. High on
a rocky bluff (maquis, you learn, grows on granite; similar
vegetation growing on limestone is called garrigue), the waist-high
tangle of flowering shrub gives up great blasts of hot, herby
fragrance to the breeze. It's walk through aromatherapy. And
Rogliano is the best kind of teacher, a philosopher-botanist who
finds ecological, historical and cultural significance in every
sprig. The French Resistance went by the name of 'Le Maquis', he
informs us, in honour of the fierce Corsican résistants
who, sheltered by the impenetrable scrub, were the first to throw
off the German occupation. But local respect for the maquis is not
merely sentimental. It remains a highly volatile organism. When it
catches fire, it can literally kill a man at 100 paces. Just
inhaling the wind-borne, superheated oils can cause themto scorch
through the internal organs, leaving a corpse with no visible
marks.